Otago visit gives PM plenty to talk about
PRIME Minister Jacinda Ardern and Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis spent the day checking out tourism and commercial operations in Central Otago yesterday.
The Prime Minister later visited a Wanaka school before sitting down to discuss working for change with former Irish president Mary Robinson at the Aspiring Conversations festival.
In Central Otago, Ms Ardern visited the NZSIP factory in Cromwell, where she said ‘‘amazing research and development’’ had gone into producing prefabricated panelling for houses that already had insulation in it, bringing down the cost of heating homes.
She then met representatives of the Women in Wine Central Otago group at Stewart Town Vineyard, in Bannockburn.
Ms Ardern said topics discussed with the women included the benefits of the wine industry to New Zealand, the early harvest in Central Otago and the effects of climate change on producers.
Answering questions from media, she also discussed the blowout of the Earthquake Commission’s Christchurch repairs from $70 million to $270 million; roading issues, and the Government’s increase in roading funding; and frustrations about freedom campers.
The frustrations were ‘‘totally understandable’’, and the Government was allocating more resources to improving infrastructure, she said.
Earlier, in Queenstown, on a visit to Shotover Jet, she was presented with three life jackets — one each for her, her partner Clarke Gayford and the couple’s unborn baby.
While Ms Ardern could not take a ride on the jet boat, something she said she was ‘‘bitterly disappointed’’ about, she vowed to return soon and leave Mr Gayford on the shore with the baby while she took a spin.
While no announcements were made in Queenstown yesterday, Ms Ardern told reporters the Government was investigating a ‘‘range of options’’ to help investment in tourism infrastructure.
‘‘It’s really just the mechanics . . . we are doing the work. It’s not a simple thing.
‘‘A tourist tax [has been] hotly debated by those experiencing those capacity issues.
‘‘There’s a range of ways we could do something in that space, but there’s no question of the problem.
‘‘I, personally, don’t think just creating rules about where you can park a vehicle [is the answer].’’
Later in the afternoon in Wanaka, around 150 Mount Aspiring College students were given the opportunity to ask Ms Ardern a range of questions, including what she wanted her legacy to be as prime minister.
‘‘There aren’t many things that last, and your name probably isn’t one of them, but what you do does,’’ she said. She told pupils that, once her term was over, she hoped to be remembered for her work on child poverty and forming a plan to make New Zealand carbon neutral by 2050.
One pupil asked if becoming prime minister was the peak of her career.
‘‘Who knows? This could be a real low point for me!’’ she joked.
To finish her busy day in Central Otago, Ms Ardern spoke at Aspiring Conversations with Mary Robinson.
The pair discussed the recent rise of populist and nationalist governments, as well as the global movement towards meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
Ms Ardern pointed to the changing landscape of industry as oil and gas makes way for electricity, but believed New Zealand could still be the ‘‘foodbowl’’ it is now.
‘‘Dairy can still be a major industry in this country, but we can do it better,’’ she said.